Saturday, October 10, 2009

Humboldt Son Returns

This last June and July(2008), there was an opportunity to return to America for a conference and a family holiday. During that time, we travelled yet again to Humboldt, Minnesota. We went there to see my Mom who was planning to stay up there for about a month. We stayed for ten days and got a chance to capture some new memories, perhaps for the last time.I always ponder why the town is shrinking. The bottom line answer is that people just don’t stay because there is nothing there to do besides farming. There is some hope working for the elevator or even the bus factory and potentially for customs but these job choices are fairly limited and in high demand. Most likely people would work from Hallock or Pembina instead. It really doesn’t look good for Humboldt in the long run.

I was incredibly nostalgic when we visited Humboldt. Without limits, I wanted to soak up what it was and what it is. It is a hidden refuge, a placid timekeeper, a stabilize force. It is my roots. I did what I could. I took more than 100 pictures in and around the house and tried my best to remember what it meant to be in Humboldt. Hopefully that will be enough.

Now that my Grandparents are no longer in Humboldt and the house will potentially soon be gone, there is much less of a reason to go there. There is still some family nearby. However, things are not quite the same. Another factor is remoteness. If you are going to Humboldt, there really is not anything thing else on the way unless you are going to Canada.